Week Five, Done and Some Recommendations

So I just concluded week five at Bloc. My last post like this was after week one, so much has happened since then to include JavaScript, JavaScript, and more JavaScript.

Basically, after the first week you are equipped on a fairly basic level with HTML, CSS, the Command Line, and Git. Week two, is an intense series of courses on JavaScript, and I mean intense. It involves the Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced courses on CodeSchool, in one week! I struggled a bit on the Advanced course but pushed through it (though I did fail my first Bloc Assessment).

After week two, we began working on a Spotify replica called Bloc Jams and this has been the task for the past three weeks. Most of it is guided with explanations along the way, but as it progresses you are asked to tackle a number of tasks on your own.

Week Three

Week three, we tackled the HTML and CSS part of the site. It was highly beneficial to put the previous HTML and CSS Primer course to practice and see it in its working environment.

Week Four

Week four was DOM Scripting, interacting with the object oriented representation of the page via JavaScript. This started off fairly straight forward, but progressed quickly into more difficult concepts (especially when functions were running functions that were running functions…..etc.).

Week Five

Week five we dove into an introductory jQuery course by refactoring some large chunks of our “vanilla JavaScript” code. I don’t think I was quite ready for this, nor am I overly impressed with jQuery, but it was helpful to get my feet wet in it.

By the end of this week, the site is finished and deployed to Netlify.

In case you are interested here is my GitHub repository as well as my Netlify deploy (though I find Netlify it to have a severe lag (though it may be my “slower” internet here at home)).

My Assessment

I am having a ball. Aside from certain frustrations, coding is a highly satisfying pursuit. When things click, it is a great feeling, one that leaves you pushing for that next surge. We now move on to a few projects before shifting to the Backend and I am eagerly awaiting the next task.

Coding is hard. I am not sure my mind has worked this hard in quite a while. Some nights as I finished up and went to bed, I had dreams that I was coding, coded all night in that dream, and then woke up to eventually, at some point in the day, do it again.

At times I feel like I am having a harder time with it than others, especially when you talk to those who seem to have it “all figured out.” However, I feel that I have come a long way, learned many concepts thoroughly, and ultimately have to focus on my own learning curve. I think I have made a lot of progress regardless if my Codewars codes are extremely long and overthought.

There really is a great community of newbie coders out there. For example just look up #100DaysOfCode on Twitter. There are lots of eager people out there learning to code. Good stuff.

Recommendations

Here are a few beneficial resources I have stumbled across:

Eloquent Javascript: This is free online or you can buy the physical/kindle book on Amazon. Make this your manual as you look to grow in JavaScript.

The Imposter’s Handbook: Did you not get a four year CS degree? Do you feel at a disadvantage because of it? Well the purpose of this book is to fill you in on those computer science concepts you may have missed out on. Check it out.

JavaScript 30: Build 30 things in 30 days. This is phenomenal (and free) and here is why. Learning to code is great, but the aha moments come when you start building things. This is a great place to start. Build stuff!!

John Sonmez: This guy has some great stuff on getting yourself out there in the tech field as well as a host of related topics.

Follow @_ericelliott on Twitter. The guy has written, and writes, some really good stuff on Medium concerning JavaScript.

JavaScript For Kids: If you are completely new to JavaScript or programming, or struggling with the basics, I think this may be one of the most practically helpful books. Yes, its a “kids book,” but I think its benefits far exceed that, especially for the project builds. Just check it out.

CONCLUSION

On to week 6….

Are you new to web development or coding? How is your pursuit going? Tell us below in the comments…